Jill S Baron, PhD
Dr. Jill Baron is a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, and a Senior Research Ecologist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University.
Jill Baron is founder and Co-Director of the John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis. She was the North American Director of the International Nitrogen Initiative 2014-2019 and is Co-Lead for Component 1 (Tools and methods for understanding the nitrogen cycle) of the International Nitrogen Management System. Baron was President of the Ecological Society of America in 2014, is a Certified Professional Ecologist, and a Fellow of the ESA and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
She was named a Woman of Vision in 2015 by Colorado Women of Influence for her work advancing women’s role in science. Baron has been active in US National Climate Assessment efforts, has given testimony to Congress on western acid rain and climate change issues, and serves on a National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Assessing Causality from a Multidisciplinary Evidence Base for National Ambient Air Quality Standards. She is founder and Principal Investigator of the Loch Vale Watershed long-term ecological monitoring and research program in Rocky Mountain National Park, an instrumented catchment that in 2022 will celebrate 40 years of continuous records.
Professional Experience
2009-present Co-Director, John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis
2016-present Senior Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins CO
1996-2015 Research Ecologist; U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO
1986-present Senior Research Scientist; Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
2000-present Advising faculty, CSU Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
1993-1996 Research Ecologist; National Biological Service, Mountain Ecosystems Section, Fort Collins, CO
1976-1993 Research Biologist-National Park Service; Great Smoky Mountains National Park TN; Gulf Islands National Seashore MS; Water Resources Division, Washington D.C. and CO
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Ecosystem Ecology, Colorado State University, 1991
M.S. Land Resources, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1979
B.S. Plant Sciences, Cornell University, 1976
Affiliations and Memberships*
Present: Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Senior Scientist
Present: Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Advising Faculty
Present: Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Faculty Affiliate
Science and Products
Nutrients and warming alter mountain lake benthic algal structure and function
The INI North American Regional Nitrogen Center: 2011–2015 nitrogen activities in North America
Global challenges for nitrogen science-policy interactions: Towards the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS) and improved coordination between multi-lateral environmental agreements
Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the adverse ef
Key components and contrasts in the nitrogen budget across a US-Canadian transboundary watershed
Nutrients and warming interact to force mountain lakes into unprecedented ecological state
Understanding mountain lakes in a changing world: Introduction to the special issue
The Modern Geological Survey; a model for research, innovation, synthjesis: A USGS perspective
2017 Monitoring and tracking wet nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park
Reducing wet ammonium deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park: The development and evaluation of a pilot early warning system for agricultural operations in eastern Colorado
Science needs for continued development of total nitrogen deposition budgets in the United States
Assessing the chemistry and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter from glaciers and rock glaciers
Science and Products
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Nutrients and warming alter mountain lake benthic algal structure and function
In recent years, benthic algae have been increasing in abundance in the littoral zones of oligotrophic lakes, but causality has been hard to assign. We used field and laboratory experiments to explore the implications of increasing water temperature and nutrient availability for benthic algal assemblages and ecosystem processes in a Colorado alpine lake. We tested the effect of nutrient enrichmentAuthorsIsabella A. Oleksy, Jill S. Baron, Whitney S. BeckThe INI North American Regional Nitrogen Center: 2011–2015 nitrogen activities in North America
The North American Nitrogen Center (NANC) carries out three main charges: (1) conducting assessments on nitrogen (N) flows within North America and the consequences for human health, water resources, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions; (2) facilitating efforts to develop solutions to the problem of excess nitrogen in agricultural, institutional, and natural resource management sectors; andAuthorsJill S. Baron, Eric A. DavidsonGlobal challenges for nitrogen science-policy interactions: Towards the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS) and improved coordination between multi-lateral environmental agreements
Human interference with the nitrogen cycle has doubled reactive nitrogen inputs to the global biosphere over the past century, leading to changes across multiple environmental issues that require urgent action. Nitrogen fertilizers and biological nitrogen fixation have allowed benefits of increased crop harvest and livestock production, while in some areas there is insufficient nitrogen to fertiliAuthorsMark A. Sutton, Clare M. Howard, Will J. Brownlie, David Kanter, Wim de Vries, Tapan Adhiya, Jean Ometto, Jill S. Baron, Wilfried Winiwarter, Xiaotang Ju, Cargele Masso, Oene Oenema, N. Raghuram, Hans J.M. van Grinsven, Isabelle Van der Beck, Christopher J. Cox, Steffen C.B. Hansen, Ramesh Ramachandran, W. Kevin HicksEcological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the adverse ef
AuthorsJohn B. Bradford, Jake Weltzin, Molly L. McCormick, Jill Baron, Zack Bowen, Sky Bristol, Daren Carlisle, Theresa Crimmins, Paul C. Cross, Joe DeVivo, Mike Dietze, Mary Freeman, Jason Goldberg, Mevin Hooten, Leslie Hsu, Karen Jenni, Jennifer L. Keisman, Jonathan Kennen, Kathy Lee, David P. Lesmes, Keith Loftin, Brian W. Miller, Peter S. Murdoch, Jana Newman, Karen L. Prentice, Imtiaz Rangwala, Jordan Read, Jennifer Sieracki, Helen Sofaer, Steve Thur, Gordon Toevs, Francisco Werner, C. LeAnn White, Timothy White, Mark T. WiltermuthByEcosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science CenterKey components and contrasts in the nitrogen budget across a US-Canadian transboundary watershed
Watershed nitrogen (N) budgets provide insights into drivers and solutions for groundwater and surface water N contamination. We constructed a comprehensive N budget for the transboundary Nooksack River Watershed (British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, USA) using locally derived data, national statistics, and standard parameters. Feed imports for dairy (mainly in the United States) and poultryAuthorsJiajia Lin, Jana Compton, Chris Clark, Shabtai Bittman, Donna Schwede, Peter Homann, Peter Kiffney, David Hooper, Gary Bahr, Jill S. BaronNutrients and warming interact to force mountain lakes into unprecedented ecological state
While deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) in the 20th century has been strongly linked to changes in diatom assemblages in high-elevation lakes, pronounced and contemporaneous changes in other algal groups suggest additional drivers. We explored the origin and magnitude of changes in two mountain lakes from the end of the Little Ice Age at ca. 1850, to ca. 2010, using lake sediments. We found dramAuthorsIsabella A. Oleksy, Jill S. Baron, Peter Leavitt, Sarah SpauldingUnderstanding mountain lakes in a changing world: Introduction to the special issue
No abstract available.AuthorsJill S. Baron, Sudeep Chandra, James J. ElserThe Modern Geological Survey; a model for research, innovation, synthjesis: A USGS perspective
Geological Surveys have long filled the role of providing Earth system science data and knowledge. These functions are increasingly complicated by accelerating environmental and societal change. Here we describe the USGS response to these evolving conditions. Underpinning the USGS approach is the recognition that many of the issues facing the U.S. and the world involve the interaction among geolAuthorsSuzette Kimball, Martin B. Goldhaber, Jill S. Baron, Victor F. Labson2017 Monitoring and tracking wet nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the National Park Service (NPS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Nitrogen Deposition Reduction Plan (NDRP) in 2007 to address the effects and trends of nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The agencies chose a glidepath approach to reduce wet nitrogen deposition to a level of 1.5AuthorsKristi Morris, M. Alisa Mast, Gregory A. Wetherbee, Jill S. Baron, Jim Cheatham, Jim Bromberg, Lisa Devore, James Hou, Kristi Gebhart, Mike Bell, David Gay, Michael Olson, Timothy Weinmann, Daniel BowkerReducing wet ammonium deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park: The development and evaluation of a pilot early warning system for agricultural operations in eastern Colorado
Agricultural emissions are the primary source of ammonia (NH3) deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), a Class I area, that is granted special air quality protections under the Clean Air Act. Between 2014 and 2016, the pilot phase of the Colorado agricultural nitrogen early warning system (CANEWS) was developed for agricultural producers to voluntarily and temporarily minimize emissionsAuthorsAaron Pena, Russ Schumacher, Scott Denning, William Faulkner, Jill Baron, Jay Ham, Dennis S. Ojima, Jeffrey CollettScience needs for continued development of total nitrogen deposition budgets in the United States
The objectives of this white paper are to describe the state of the science with respect to total Nr deposition budgets in North America and the research needed to improve these budgets from both a measurement and modeling standpoint. The document is intended to serve as a plan for TDep research activities but also, more broadly, to provide program managers, natural resource managers, policy makeAuthorsGregory A. Wetherbee, Pamela H. Templar, Richard V. Pouyat, Stephen M. Decina, Brian M. Kerschner, Thomas H. Whitlow, Pamela E. Padgett, Donna B. Schwede, Jill Baron, David Clow, Alisa Mast, Graham A. Sexstone, Kristi H. MorrisAssessing the chemistry and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter from glaciers and rock glaciers
As glaciers thaw in response to warming, they release dissolved organic matter (DOM) to alpine lakes and streams. The United States contains an abundance of both alpine glaciers and rock glaciers. Differences in DOM composition and bioavailability between glacier types, like rock and ice glaciers, remain undefined. To assess differences in glacier and rock glacier DOM we evaluated bioavailabilityAuthorsTimothy S. Fegel, Claudia M. Boot, Corey D. Broeckling, Jill Baron, Edward K Hall - News
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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government